The big Fourth of July weekend is almost upon us! But before you light up the fireworks and accidentally set your neighbor’s roof ablaze, maybe you should pause and realize there are some things in this country not worth celebrating.

The MAD offices were host to a number of MAD luminaries (we use the term loosely) on Thursday, including Paul Coker, Drew Friedman, Tom Richmond, Teresa Burns Parkhurst, Desmond Devlin, Tom Bunk and Irving Schild! And in case you don’t believe us, we’ve got the photo to prove it! (Click the image to make it bigger!)

Yesterday, when a California appeals court struck down Proposition 8 — the state’s voter-approved ban on same sex marriage — anti-gay forces went ballistic, vowing to continue their fight to support “traditional marriage” Why can’t these knuckle-dragging troglodytes see the future that’s inevitably coming? After all, we did — way back in 2010, with an issue of Archie that foresaw the way things will eventually be — in California and beyond.